


Blood Doesn't Matter (Unless You're Spilling It)

by CaliginousCandy



Series: Love is the Liveliest, Life is the Loveliest Way Back Home [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Fallout 3
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 00:30:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14800871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaliginousCandy/pseuds/CaliginousCandy
Summary: On their way to find Vault 112, Jason and Tim stop to rest in an empty factory.





	Blood Doesn't Matter (Unless You're Spilling It)

**Author's Note:**

> It's easier to write all these things as I play through them in Fallout. haha.
> 
> I was listening to the note from Dad earlier today. The way he says "I love you" really gets to me.
> 
> **Some Background:** At Rivet City, Dr. Li told Tim he was the son of her colleagues, Jack and Janet, and not James's. Big surprise! 
> 
> just one of the things I threw in there to make it more interesting. Otherwise, you could just play through the game and be like "yeah, that was exactly like that one fic except that one had jaytim in it." 
> 
> Also, Tim and Jason bonded over how sleazy they think stupid Colin Moriarty is. He's such fucking garbage, and _not_ the good kind. fuck you, i'm not paying 100 caps just for you to tell me my dad isn't in Megaton. With Jason's help, Tim broke into the back room at Moriarty's and he hacked the computer. Nice.

Jason awakens to the sound of a man’s voice echoing eerily against all the metal tubes of the factory he and Tim are holed up in for the night. (It’s a long way to Girdershade, after all.) With his back toward where Tim is sitting, he can pretend to be asleep. His mother always told him it isn’t nice to eavesdrop, but his instincts are telling him to pipe down and listen.

“ _Hold on, Jonas. I need to record this first._ ” The voice is tinny and far away enough that Jason can hear quiet sniffling in the gloom. Tim shifts and his rifle drags on the dusty concrete, cutting off part of the message. “ _\--tell you this. I hope you’ll understand, but I know you might be angry._ ”

This time, it sounds like the man had gotten closer to speak into the recording device despite sounding hesitant, “ _I thought about it for a long time, but in the end I decided it was best for you not to know._ ”

“Know what?” Tim whispers over the unresponsive holotape. 

“ _\--ve gone wrong, and there’s really no telling how the Overseer will react when he finds out. It’s best if he can blame--_ ”

“That you aren’t my real _dad_?”

“ _\--that I’m gone. It was something I needed to do. You’re an adult now--_ ” 

“That you _lied_ to me for almost 20 _years_?!”

The sudden broken shout makes Jason jump, and he figures it would be reasonable if he were awake now. Jason sits up and faces Tim who has curled himself over the Pip-Boy on his wrist, muffling the recording. It’s time to intervene.

“Woah, Tim,” he says and shuffles along the floor to Tim’s front. Tim is sobbing now. Any more loud noises echoing from supposedly empty buildings and some raiders will want to come investigate. “Hey, baby. Come on.” Nice. Tim hates being called “baby.”

“ _\--I can’t tell you why--_ ”

“ _Damnit_ , Jason! He _lied_ to me!” Tim’s face is streaked with tears. “He was my _father_!”

It’s the most distressed Jason has ever seen him. It’s a bit scary, but Jason should have anticipated _some_ kind of breakdown after the massive, heh, bomb Dr. Li dropped on them a few days before. 

Jason hauls Tim bodily onto his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around Tim’s armored torso. It’s a bit rough, and Jason has never been the best at comfort. But he can do this, at least. Dick taught him as much. Granted it’s a bandage slapped onto a gaping exit wound, but rule number one of Wasteland Medical is “stop the bleeding at all costs first.”

Tim sobs into his chest, which can’t be comfortable at all. “He was my father.”

“ _\--you’ll be safe. Just knowing--_ ”

“Hey, he raised you, right?” Jason asks, petting Tim’s hair. He can’t even enjoy it what with the more pressing matters, but his memory is good. It will do. He waits for the nod. “Then he’s your dad. Blood doesn’t matter unless you’re spilling it.”

Tim relaxes slowly into Jason’s embrace, still sniffling but the tiny huffs of laughter are reassuring. The recording goes on.

“ _Goodbye,_ ” says the man, James. Tim’s father, for all intents and purposes. “ _I love you._ ”

Tim sighs and the Pip-Boy beeps to signal the end of the recording. 

“I know, Dad.”

Outside, the winds howl and drag vast amounts of sand along with them in their hurry to nowhere.

**Author's Note:**

> Tim was listening to the message on repeat and had been doing so every time he got the chance.
> 
> dang, now i've written this instead of everything else that could have been better and is definitely longer. By the way, who wants to know what i've written? ^^


End file.
